First Lady - Use in Other Countries

Use in Other Countries

The term "first lady" has been used by the press to describe the female spouse of a head of state in countries other than the United States. For example, in Canada, the wife of the Governor-General, Gilbert John Elliot-Murray-Kynynmound (known as Lord Minto) was referred to as "the first lady" by the popular press circa 1900: a 1902 article in Munsey's Magazine said, "Much of the success of the governor general in Canada must always depend upon the personality of the lady who is his wife. Throughout Canada, Lady Minto has exercised an influence which has always been used for the good of the people, for the advancement of charity, for the development of beneficent institutions. As the first lady in the land, she has done much to weld together the heterogeneous components of a colonial society which includes peoples of different races and of antagonistic religions." "In The Public Eye: The Governor-General of Canada," p. 684. And the press also used this term to refer to the wife of Mexico's leader, President Porfirio Díaz. In a piece about "The Daughters of Mexico" in Munsey's Magazine in 1896, author Jeannie Marshall said of Carmen Romero Rubio de Diaz: "She is still a young woman, though she has filled the position of 'first lady of the land' for many years, with marked success." This does not seem to be only an English-language custom. Spanish-language newspapers such as La Prensa of San Antonio TX also called her by the Spanish term "primera dama" when writing about her activities, referring to her as "La primera dama de Mexico, Dona Carmen Romero Rubio de Diaz" (for example, "Domincales," La Prensa, 19 September 1917, p. 4).